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Atypical opioid overdoses – fentanyl

High doses of fentanyl injected quickly can result in overdoses that are atypical of opioid overdoses as most people know them, signalling a need to both be aware of the new symptoms and to tailor emergency responses. First responders and other front-line staff report that many overdoses caused by such injections are resulting in muscle rigidity, characterized by jaw and fist clenching, and a tightness to the chest that keeps it from rising and falling, making it difficult to ventilate the patient..

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The people behind this site

Nigel Brunsdon

Nigel’s day job is being the Community Manager at HIT, he also runs the injectingadvice.com website and a number of other online harm reduction projects. In his spare time he can be found hiding behind a camera.

Craig Harvey

Craig is a committed harm reductionist, having worked primarily with people who inject drugs for two decades, both in the United Kingdom and Australia. A surfer, climber and wannabe novelist, he sometimes takes photographs too.